Pascal Wehrlein: “I can’t wait to get to grips with the track”

Pascal Wehrlein believes the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will offer his Manor Racing team an opportunity for a much more competitive weekend as he feels the low downforce nature of the track will suit them.

Although the Montreal circuit is another street-style track on the back of the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago, Wehrlein knows the challenge is a completely different one in Canada, and the Mercedes-protégé is ready for his seventh Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Wehrlein has spent a few days on the run up to the Canadian Grand Prix in the city of Montreal, but is now eager to get out on track for free practice on Friday.

“It’s a great city with so much to see and do,” said Wehrlein. “It was nice to get here a little early and spend some time exploring. It’s pretty cold here right now, so that will be quite interesting as the weekend goes on.

“For now though, I like what I see and I can’t wait to get to grips with the track from Friday.

“First of all it’s pretty fast – one of the fastest tracks of the season. So that makes it great for me as a driver but also good for our package, which is perhaps a little better suited to the lower downforce circuits.

“It’s also pretty demanding on the car though, particularly with the hard-braking. It’s a very different challenge to the last race in Monaco but I’m really enjoying the diversity of all the circuits right now, so bring it on!”